Those things in life that are worth having are those things which are difficult to come by; perseverance is made more rewarding by the volume of messages ignored by the mind as we work towards a goal.
Fatigue comes in many forms and is normally framed in negative connotations; weariness, exhaustion – both things to avoid. For a Cyclist, it can carry a range of meanings. We may become weary of riding in the rain, as I normally am at this time of year; stuffing my shoes with yesterday’s newspaper post-ride in the hope that the dry accounting of our current events will somehow render my shoes less soggy the next day. We may become weary as we approach the big climb of the day when we know what suffering lies around the bend. To push on during an effort despite an overwhelming exhaustion that lays bare our spirit and threatens to stop our legs from turning.
But fatigue can be a beautiful thing. The fatigue that registers as a result of the post-ride status check is the gauge by which we measure satisfaction in our work. Even during the ride, we find that fatigue may not always be the sentinel of the Man with the Hammer; even as the wave of exhaustion washes over us, we learn through practice that we can continue or even lift our effort.
My favorite fatigue is the kind that sets in during a long ride; when the body has acquiesced to the mind and the signals of discomfort and pain have stopped being sent. The legs at this point take on an almost anesthetic quality to them, they don’t hurt but they don’t feel either; they have a thickness that, while they lack the punch they have when fresh, allows us to continue to push on the pedals for hours on end.
This happened to me during my most recent long ride. It was a cold, rainy day – cold enough that snow fell at the tops of the two major climbs of the day. The last big climb came at 160km and, while there is no such thing as a flat route in the Seattle area, the roads home lacked the steep grades that characterize our urban streets. The descent from Cougar Mountain froze me to my core. Starting in the snow and ending in the pouring rain, I arrived at the first of the minor climbs on the way home and pushed the button on my left shifter to slip into the little ring. Instead of making contact, my frozen hand slipped limply along the lever and did little more than jiggle the button.
This presented an unusual problem. At this point I was tired after having a piled a load of kilometers in my legs. I was also becoming just the slightest bit annoyed at how cold I was. I swerved dangerously as I experimented with bashing different parts of my hands and arms against the disappointingly stubborn shifter to try to get it to budge. Inanimate objects and I have an uneasy history, and I soon found myself giving it the customary inputs involving profanity and questioning the pureness of its mother.
Having that unpleasant business out of the way, I resigned myself to riding home in the big ring feeling fortunate that my right hand was still capable of shifting so at least I wasn’t riding a glorified single speed. And then it hit me: it was actually quite easy to carry on this way, riding in the big ring. The legs still managed to turn over and I hardly felt a thing as I pushed harder on them whenever the road pointed up. Even a few of the hills on which I struggle to stay in the big ring during my usual training rides seemed to pass under my wheels without giving undue notice.
That sensation of power combined with the heavy fatigue I carried with me distinguishes itself as one that comes only during my longest rides on those days when my form is good enough that the effort hasn’t cracked me entirely. Wholly unlike the seduction of La Volupte, it does bear a vague similarity in its rarity. Powerful fatigue; vive la Vie Velominatus.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@Benj
It also makes a good recovery drink for hangovers. Many a morning I have reached in the fridge for the red ambulance.
"That sensation of power combined with the heavy fatigue I carried with me distinguishes itself as one that comes only during my longest rides on those days when my form is good enough that the effort hasn't cracked me entirely."
I find this to be dead on accurate, but I cannot totally predict when this sensation will occur. There are times when the effort has destroyed me and I have no sensations of power, and all I can think of is getting off the bike and real food. Other times the sensations appear out of nowhere, and I am giddy with bewilderment as to how the legs have a mind of their own after a 4-6 hour ride. On the rare occurences that this happens, I always try to analyze why this does not happen every long ride, but I think Frank finally nailed it.....if the Form, Stroke and Vendurance are not already at fairly high levels...the Man with the Hammer overcomes these splendid sensations.
@Benj
The famous (infamous) coach from the 80's and early 90's Eddie Borysewicz (Eddie B) used to suggest having a "rocket bottle" that you'd hammer down about 5-10K before the end of a race. It had flat Coke, a couple shots of espresso and a shot or two of whiskey. I can't imagine being full on in the red zone, that point where eating or drinking anything is near impossible and sucking that down.
I guess these days it'd be Redbull and vodka or Monster and Jagermeister.
@scaler911
That sounds downright impossible to digest during an effort. But then again, who knows?
There's something special about Coke as a sports beverage. My usual order on a mid-ride coffee stop is a double espresso and a coke, and it simply works. My mother uses it during her long-distance triathlons - coke in one bottle, water in the other, and a mini Red Bull next to her shoes in each transition. Even at work - as a waiter, on a high-stress day you can easily find yourself low on sugar and energy after several hours of non-stop work, and nothing, not even a thick slice of buttered bread, can beat a glass of Coke.
I don't drink it on the bike, though, as I find the taste quite nasty when de-fizzed. That's where I stick to my tried-and-true homebrew: 1/4 Orange juice, a sprinkle of fleur de sel and brown sugar, and the rest water.
@scaler911
That train of thought keeps getting grosser and grosser. I wouldn't drink any of that partying - let alone riding a bike!
@tessar
All topped by that! Salt and brown sugar in OJ? Kill me now, but Nuuns and water work just fine for me, thankyouverymuch.
@tessar
Did the Etape a couple of years back - Le Tourmalet - and met a more experienced rider than me (actually there were about 10,000 of them) whose formula is as follows: start a long ride two water bottles, each filled with high density carbohydrate drink. When you've drunk them, refill with water and add electrolyte tablets or nothing at all. Keep refilling throughout the event (on that day, 180km with two Cat 1's and one HC, in 80-85deg heat, I refilled each bottle three times) until one hour to go. Then drink full fat coke and/or espresso. Caffeine and sucrose are the key ingredients. This will lift you to the finish. After that you will crash, so experiment and time it correctly. You don't want to crash with 2km still to go.
@mcsqueak
Smart move. I lost my track mentor in early 2010 and it may have been his last lesson before passing on.
@Kyle
Oh good, I feel my back just thinking about it.
@Club Velo des Moutons Noirs
I've crashed short of the line with a chase group. Bloddy hell does it suck when you wobble across the line and one of the guys tells you about the sprint for 4th, etc, etc.
@Dan_R
Yeah. I'd love to have a good tan, but I love not having skin cancer even more! I do get very slight tan lines, but nothing that is very noticeable or worth bragging about/trying to show off.
Also, here is some top-secret video I found of you finishing that race:
@frank
And pot belge took it a step further. Take it while you're racing and at the after party.
@Marcus
Or while driving in the caravan! No dope controls for the team staff!
@mcsqueak
I love the priorities there - not oh shit, or ouch, or is my bike ok..."Did I win?"